Luis Leonardo Almagro Lemes (; born June 1, 1963) is a Uruguayan lawyer, diplomat, and politician who served as the 10th Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS) from 2015 to 2025. A former member of the Broad Front, Almagro served as Minister of Foreign Relations of Uruguay from 2010 to 2015 under president José Mujica.
Almagro served as Uruguay's Ambassador to the People's Republic of China from 2005 to 2010. He had previously held different positions at the Ministry of Foreign Relations. After the 2009 general election, then-president-elect José Mujica appointed him foreign minister, taking office in March 2010, succeeding Pedro Vaz. During his tenure in the Mujica administration, the country received several detainees from the Guantanamo Bay detention camp and dozens of Syrian families who were civilian victims, as well as maintained a military presence in Haiti to ensure the reconstruction process after the 2010 earthquake.
After leaving government service, Almagro was elected Senator of the Republic in 2014 for the 48th Legislature and assumed his seat in March 2015, however, he resigned a few months later to take office as Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS). On March 20, 2020, the OAS General Assembly re-elected him in office for a second term until 2025. An election was held on 10 March to choose his successor.
Early life and education Luis Almagro was born June 1, 1963, in Cerro Chato, Paysandú Department. Almagro studied at the University of the Republic, where he earned his law degree. During his 23-year career with the Uruguayan Foreign Ministry, he represented Uruguay in the Islamic Republic of Iran (1991–1996), in Germany (1998–2003), as well as serving as Ambassador to China (2007–2010). He is fluent in Spanish, English, and French.
Foreign Minister of Uruguay During Almagro's time as Foreign Minister (2010–2015), Uruguay drew global recognition for a small South American country as they were the largest per capita contributor to UN peacekeeping forces as well as secured Uruguay's successful election seat to the UN Security Council. Almagro also supported efforts on the restoration of relations between Cuba and the US. Almagro's commitment to human rights extended to domestic affairs as demonstrated by the active role in the repeal of the 1986 Expiry Law, which granted amnesty for crimes and human rights abuses committed during the civic-military dictatorship between 1973 and 1985, and actively supported prosecutions for these crimes.
A lawyer, Almagro was a member of the executive committee that drafted the groundbreaking legislation regulating the possession, growth, and distribution of marijuana in Uruguay in 2013. Uruguay is the first country in the world to introduce legislation of its kind. He also represented Uruguay at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), in the suit brought by Philip Morris International against Uruguay for its anti-tobacco policies. After six years, ICSID ruled in favor of Uruguay. Also responsible for trade, Almagro also played a key role in expanding and diversifying Uruguay market access, raising exports each year of his term. A key focus was opening up non-traditional markets to Uruguayan exporters, including as securing access to key US markets for Uruguay's citrus fruit.
A strong advocate for refugees, Almagro played an integral role in negotiating the transfer of a group of ex-detenidos (former detainees) from Guantanamo Bay detention camp to Uruguay. Almagro also led the process to welcome dozens of Syrian refugees to Uruguay, along with former President Mujica. For this they were listed among Foreign Policy magazine's top Global Thinkers for 2014. Almagro is one of only 10 decision-makers in the region to be awarded this international distinction. In 2018, Almagro was listed 4th in the ranking of top 100 leaders from multilateral organizations.
Secretary General of the OAS
Election to the OAS
Almagro was elected Secretary General of the Organization of American States on March 18, 2015, earning the support of 33 of the 34 Members States, including one abstention. He officially took office on May 26, 2015. Almagro's first year in office was marked by his outspoken stance on democracy and human rights. His leadership has widely been seen as reinvigorating an Organization. His election campaign centered on the idea of "More Rights for More People". In addition to four programmatic pillars of democracy, human rights, security and development, he announced a set of new strategic initiatives to achieve this goal including:
The OAS School of Governance to train civil servants and civil society with the tools for transparent and accountable government; The Inter-American Education System to ensure quality, inclusive, and equitable education; and The Regional System for the Prevention of Social Conflicts to facilitate dialogue between investors, states and communities in key productive sectors.
Under the renewed vision, Almagro continues to champion key OAS initiatives including the Inter-American Human Rights System, the Inter-American Judicial Facilitators Program, the MACCIH, and the Mission to Support the Peace Process in Colombia (MAPP), along with electoral cooperation and observation missions as priorities for the organization.
Regional work
Madrid Forum On 3 March 2020, Santiago Abascal of the far-right Spanish political party Vox met with Almagro, with the two discussing the creation of the anti-leftist organization, the Madrid Forum. Members of the Madrid Forum again met with Almagro in March 2023, presenting the ongoing Peruvian protests as an international "destabilization campaign" against President Dina Boluarte.
Inter-religious dialogue The initiative "Protecting our Home Common Home: Ensuring more rights for more people in the Americas" is organized through the cooperation of the OAS, the Vatican and the Inter-religious Institute for Dialogue. The inaugural meeting on September 7–8, 2016, established a Hemispheric Network of Dialogue for the Common Home which creates platform for dialogue between countries of OAS Member States and religious leaders to support reconciliation and the search for solutions to promote peace and stability, in line with Article 2 of the OAS Charter.
Other work Almagro has given special lectures and classes at prestigious academic centers including the University of Oxford, New York University, Georgetown University, Harvard University, Syracuse University, UNAM of Mexico, University of Pennsylvania, Boston College, Cambridge University, and University of the Republic of Uruguay, among others. During the 2022 Summit of the Americas, Almagro called for a global treaty to end violence against women and girls.
National work
Bolivia During his mandate, the OAS Electoral Observation Mission for the 2019 presidential elections in Bolivia denounced irregularities in the process. In agreement with the Bolivian government, the OAS conducted an audit of the electoral process, whose preliminary report dated November 10, 2019 denounced "irregularities, ranging from very serious to indicative", which led the technical audit team to "question the integrity of the election results". On November 10, Almagro called for the election to be annulled and for new elections to be called, a process during which he assured "it is understood that constitutional mandates should not be interrupted, including that of President Evo Morales." The final report of the audit, published on December 4, concluded that there was “fraudulent manipulation” and “serious irregularities” that made it impossible to validate the results originally issued by the Bolivian electoral authorities. The European Union, which also sent an Electoral Observation Mission to the October 2019 elections in Bolivia, reached similar conclusions in its final report. In 2022, and in compliance with a mandate from the United States Congress, the US State Department prepared a report on Bolivia's electoral process in 2019, which ratified the findings of the OAS and EU missions.
Guatemala Almagro and the OAS played a central role in ensuring that Bernardo Arévalo assumed the presidency of Guatemala in January 2024, after his victory in the 2023 general elections, as highlighted by President Arévalo himself in his speech at a formal session of the Permanent Council of the Organization on March 26, 2024: "During 2023, this Organization played a fundamental role in catalyzing global support for the struggle of the people of Guatemala to assert their sovereignty." The Ambassador of Antigua and Barbuda to the United States and the Organization of American States, Sir Ronald Sanders stated that "undoubtedly, had the OAS and its Secretary General Luis Almagro, supported by key member states of the Permanent Council, not played an active role as mediator, negotiator, and influencer, Guatemala would currently face a constitutional crisis and civil unrest."
Cuba On December 7, 2018, under the leadership of Secretary General Almagro, the OAS hosted the first Conference on the Situation of Human Rights in Cuba since the 2009 Resolution lifting Cuba's suspension from the Organization. The conference included dialogue on the criminality of freedom of Expression in Cuba, as well as the situation of political prisoners and accountability for repressors in the country.
Haiti Following the suspension of the second round of presidential elections on January 24, 2016, President Michel Martelly requested assistance from OAS Secretary General Almagro to facilitate a discussion on finding a way forward. On January 29, an OAS Special Mission travelled to Haiti to assess the situation and help reach an understanding "agreed by Haitians." The Mission engaged in dialogue with key political and civil society stakeholders facilitating a consensus formula for next steps. On February 6, 2016, former President Martelly announced a transitional agreement electing an interim President and confirming a consensus Prime Minister. After the completion of the Mission, the Representative of Haiti to the OAS, Jean Josué Pierre, applauded the OAS, stating that "the Mission not only supported and accompanied the negotiations, but has reestablished the image of the Organization." Almagro has been critical of the slow progress to resolve the political impasse; "It is imperative for Haitian political stakeholders, including Parliamentarians and those provisionally governing the country, to fully assume their responsibilities towards the nation. The interests of the Haitian people must supersede partisan interests."
Honduras